


Beyond Borders

by onlywordsnow



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - No Island, Eventual Sex, Eventual Torture, F/M, Getting to Know Each Other, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Trauma surgeon, doctor/doctor - Freeform, technology start up, technology to advance medicine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-17 10:44:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11273850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlywordsnow/pseuds/onlywordsnow
Summary: Oliver Queen, a volunteer trauma surgeon in the Democratic Republic of Congo near the Congo River with his best friend Tommy Merlyn, has hardly communicated with the outside world for the last year and a half.  Hardened by life and disassociation, his entire demeanor is rocked by the appearance of tech genius, Felicity Smoak, and her business partners.  Trying to prove that their technology will help the medical field advance, a hard-headed Oliver resists the careless care he feels this unreliable technology will provide.  Maybe they can teach each other a thing or two?





	Beyond Borders

Oliver Queen absently wipes the sweat off of his forehead with the sleeve of his t-shirt, but the movement proves to be void due to the utterly dry air.  The hot, African sunlight has kissed his skin so much today that his flesh is beginning to ache, but he doesn't have time to wallow in his misery.  He hears a noise in the distance that prompts him to look up from his book, one which hasn't much managed to engage him for a nanosecond.

 

He squints into the distance, noting a cloud of dust catching in the air and lingering there for quite some time.  The crunch of rubber against sand manages to echo off of the one tree standing tall near the stream and trail over to the hut about a football field's length away that serves as a hospital.  Oliver shuts his book with a snap, the spine worn enough that he can easily find his place without a bookmark, and stands to his feet.

 

He turns on his heel to head back to the hut where they are running low on supplies.  He's halfway to the hospital structure when Tommy steps out, boots echoing against the wood deck, sunglasses gracing his face as he looks out towards the noise.  Tommy had convinced him almost a year ago to join him in the Congo and they've been thicker than blood ever since.

 

"You should really get some shades," Tommy says once he's within earshot, "You're going to go blind."

 

"Yeah yeah," he mutters dismissively, stepping onto the staircase, "I'll be sure to invest in a pair the next time I make it to the city."

 

"Those our new recruits?" Tommy asks, shifting his gaze to Oliver.

 

Oliver pauses at the top of the stairs and looks to his left.  Tommy swiftly pushes his sunglasses up into his hairline and wiggles his eyebrows.  Oliver quickly shakes his head, a smirk toying on his mouth at his old friend.

 

"Yeah," Oliver says, "Maybe they're bringing you a girlfriend."

 

"A tall blonde," Tommy replies, disappearing into dreamland.

 

He lifts his hand to Tommy's chest and pats him there.  Tommy laughs in response, pushing his sunglasses back to their rightful position.  Oliver proceeds into the hut to deposit his book onto the desk beside the front door where he leaves it just in case anyone else wants something to occupy their minds.  He returns to Tommy's side as the transport vehicle trudges towards them, disturbing the natural stillness of their environment.  He feels a slight gust of wind whip across his skin, stinging him, as the vehicle becomes so clear that he could actually describe it if he had to for any reason.

 

He instinctively furrows his eyebrows, the skin between his eyes at the top of his nose bending and creasing accordingly.  The vehicle looks nothing like their normal supply transport.  He folds his arms across his chest, his stance automatically shifting into a rather unwelcoming one.

 

"Why doesn't this seem right?" Tommy mutters beside him.  He sighs quietly.  He fixes his face to match his stance.  He feels Tommy's eyes on him and he meets his friend's gaze. "Maybe they're just delivering a hell of a lot of supplies?"

 

"Where are we going to store it all?  We have sand on this side," Oliver says, gesturing behind them, "Jungle on that side, torrential downpours without warning, and hardly a place to sleep.  Prisoners sleep better than we do."

 

"Perhaps you're the one who needs a girlfriend," Tommy replies, "You might lighten up if you got laid."

 

Oliver rolls his eyes.  He shakes his head at his friend and relents his stance. He says, "Come on."

 

He descends the stairs as the black van begins to slow.  It rolls to a stop as Tommy follows his lead.  The ground crunches beneath his boots in tandem with the engine idling until it hums completely dormant.  The door to the driver's seat pops open and man about his height tumbles out.

 

"Hi," the man greets with too much pep and an awkward wave.  Oliver is quickly distracted by the man's greeting when the passenger door opens and a young woman hops out.

 

"There's your girlfriend," Tommy whispers cheekily.

 

"I'm Ray Palmer," the man proceeds, "And this is Felicity Smoak."

 

She makes it to him before Ray does somehow.  She extends a hand to him. He takes her proffered gesture despite the fact that he's still taking her appearance in.  She does not look adequately prepared for their living conditions at all. In fact, neither of them do.

 

She says, "Felicity Smoak. He just said that."

 

Her hand feels cool to the touch; a coolness he probably hasn't felt in weeks due to the dry heat.  He almost ignores everything coming out of their mouths to ask if he can just sit in the air conditioning of their van for a few minutes.  She shakes his hand with too much vigor and it makes his entire arm tingle.

 

"I'm Felicity," she says again; he watches her silently chastise herself, "We're here with Smoak Tech-"

 

"Palmer Tech," Ray corrects.

 

"Obviously we are still working out a few minor details," she says, "But we're here with an array of goodies that will make treating patients a lot easier."

 

"So you're not our new doctors?" Tommy mutters, annoyed.

 

"No," Felicity says.  She finally retracts her hand from his only to nearly smack herself on the forehead while pursing her lips.  She sighs.  She says, "I mean, we are doctors but we're not yours.  Well, we are here to help you but we don't belong to you."

 

"What my partner is saying," Ray chimes in, "Is that we are your new staff. Temporarily."

 

Suddenly there's a loud banging in the back of the van that startles the bubbly pair.  Felicity smiles apologetically.  Oliver's eyes follow her as she begins to move to the back of the van.

 

"Sorry," she says, "That's just Curtis. He has trouble with doors sometimes."

 

Oliver is extremely unsettled by the mess before him.  Their incoming staff is made up of not 1 but 3 people who will most likely only be getting in the way.  He sees them as not only annoying but absolutely unteachable.  Looking over at Tommy, however, he learns that his counterpart does not share the same sentiments.  Tommy's insanely amused by them.

 

He watches silently as she rushes to the back of the van to pop the back door open.  Once she does, Curtis, he assumes, tumbles to the ground.  He hears her sigh loudly in surprise as she bends over in her short dress to help the man up.  Oliver can't help scanning his eyes up and down her frame, her curves accented in that incredibly inappropriate dress and exposing her delicate skin.  He can't help thinking that, although she is a vision to look at, hopefully she brought a very different attire.  For her sake.

 

"Oh my gosh," she says loudly, surprise touching her voice, "Curtis, are you okay?"

 

"Fine fine fine," he mutters in a rush, "I'm fine."

 

Oliver watches as Curtis gets to his feet, elongating his spine until he stands almost a head taller than the woman at his side.  The man waves awkwardly.  Oliver just tips his chin in greeting, eyes trailing back to the equally anxious woman.  She smiles widely at him, like she's looking at him for the first time.

 

Oliver's mouth splits into a smile, something washing over him at her welcoming warmth despite her being the visitor.  He relents in his demeanor, however, still not entirely understanding what the new group are going to contribute to their medical team.  He clears his throat then, putting himself into check and vowing to no longer be distracted by her.

 

"Miss Smoak," he says, voice seemingly catching in his throat.

 

"Doctor," she corrects, "Doctor Smoak.  I didn't spend thousands of dollars for that Ph. D. for you to call me Miss Smoak."

 

"Right," he replies absently, "Anyhow, would you and your colleagues like a hand?  The rest of our team should be back with supplies at any moment and we won't have much of an opportunity for a tour."

 

"Oh yes," she hums, "I think we would greatly appreciate your help.  You certainly look like you have the muscles for it."

 

He can't help himself.  He smirks again.  He steps towards the back of the van.  He turns and looks inside, a whole slew of equipment coming into view. Most of the equipment looks entirely unusable here where they, for the most part, lose light when the sun goes down.  On a few occasions, they have worked by battery operated light, but that doesn't prove to be too helpful in the long run.  He furrows his eyebrows there, not quite sure why they would travel so far with so much baggage.

 

"Tommy," Oliver grumbles, shifting his eyes from the abundance of tech items in the back of the van to his old friend, "Come on, give the lady a hand."

 

"Awwwww," Tommy whines, "We all wanted to watch you show your muscles off."

 

“Don’t encourage her,” Ray warns.

 

“Yeah,” Oliver absently agrees, “Shut up and give us a hand.”

 

Oliver jumps into the back of the van to help unload the undoubtedly expensive cargo.  He turns towards the product and wraps his hands around the handles to lift a container.  It’s heavier than he expected.  His muscles flex to keep the container from pulling his arms down.  He hears two sharp gasps elicit from the people behind him.  He looks at them sharply, the skin between his eyes knitting together as he watches a flush touch Doctor Smoak’s cheeks and Curtis clear his throat as if nothing had happened.

 

“Alright,” Tommy says, breaking the tension, “Stop showing off.”

 

“I don’t know that you can lift this,” Oliver teases, “Too bad Diggle isn’t back yet.”

 

“Maybe he’s getting laid,” Tommy retorts.

 

Tommy sticks his arms into the back of the van to receive the container.  Oliver shakes his head dismissively as he sets the container down on the edge so Tommy can take the handles.  Tommy has always had one thing on his mind.  He hadn’t thought that Tommy would become the perpetual bachelor of the two of them.  Not that he has a girl back home or anything.  He just is better at staying focused on the job than his friend.  Which is probably the reason that Tommy isn’t much of a surgeon and is better at practicing general medicine.

 

“Can’t you think about anything else?” Oliver groans, turning back to retrieve more cargo.  Tommy just laughs and heads into their medical hut.  Oliver huffs in return, picking up another container.  He swallows a thick film of saliva in the base of his throat.  He looks at Doctor Smoak and says, “Maybe Ray could help?  Might get you three settled in sooner.”

 

She nods quickly in response.  He sets the second container on the edge of the back of the van, which Curtis steps forward to grab.  Curtis grabs the second container and follows Tommy’s lead into the hut.  He turns on his heel to grab another container.  He hears Ray whisper, loudly, to Felicity which she immediately responds to.  They sound like they’re bickering about something.  Could be their disagreement on what exactly the name of their company is.

 

Oliver grabs the third container, leaving one more in the corner with a few bags leaning against it, to move from the vehicle to the hut.  He sets the third one down and lifts his eyes to Ray’s. Ray, looking rather annoyed and extremely unimpressed with his jaw tightened, grabs the container and trails behind the two other men carrying containers.  Pursing his lips together, Oliver looks over at Felicity.  She steps closer to the back of the van.

 

“I’m sorry about him,” she starts, “He’s…grumpy.”

 

“Yeah?” Oliver asks, releasing a ragged breath, “You think it has anything to do with the new guy’s muscles you’re fawning over?”

 

“What?” She asks.  She stills in her movements, a blush touching her cheeks like she’s been caught.  She shakes her head quickly, moving to climb into the back of the van.  He doesn’t think that’s a good idea, with her skirt and all, but he reaches out a hand for her to take anyway.  He practically lifts her into the back beside him because she’s so light. “No, it’s the tech.  He didn’t want to come.  He thinks his skills are more valuable elsewhere.”

 

“Maybe they are,” Oliver says with a shrug.  He turns from her.  He reaches for the container and lifts it.  When he turns again, he sees that she isn’t very happy about his comment.  The scowl on her face proves that this, so far, has not been anything like she expected.  He sets the container down on the edge of the van.  He jumps down into the sand and settles his hands on the handles of the container again.  He sighs and says, “Look, this is a shitty place to be, especially if you aren’t here to help people.”

 

“I want to help people,” she insists.

 

“I’m sure you do,” he replies, “But the supplies, the bugs, the food, it’s all shit.  I really hope you packed accordingly because if you walk around here dressed like that, you’re going to find yourself in a world of hurt.”

 

She stares at him but doesn’t manage to say anything else.  He offers her an apologetic smile, clearly making a great first impression.  Not that he cares to make an impression.  She’ll be gone before he knows anything else about her.  He’s sure of it.  He adds, “Throw some of the bags on here and I’ll take them, too.”

 

She nods gently and grabs the handle of a duffle bag.  She sets that one on top but fails to meet his gaze.  He swallows, wishing he could make it up to her but not exactly knowing why he has the urge to do so.  Maybe because she seems like a kind, smart girl and he doesn’t want to see that light she clearly encompasses go dim.

 

“Doctor Smoak,” he says.

 

“You can call me Felicity,” she corrects.

 

“Okay,” he says softly with a nod, “Felicity...”

 

The rest of what he was going to say dies on his tongue.  She probably doesn’t want to hear his explanation about anything, not after he made it sound like she isn’t here for the right reasons.  He doesn’t know this girl.  The only thing he knows about her is her name and that she is part of a start-up tech company.  Hell, he doesn’t even know that she can actually practice medicine.

 

He turns to head into the hut so he can deposit the last container in with the rest of the supplies.


End file.
